


Transfer Student

by ulnariiii



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-17
Updated: 2015-10-10
Packaged: 2018-04-21 04:32:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4815167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ulnariiii/pseuds/ulnariiii
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sanji lives out his everyday high school life like any other until a transfer student from Japan shows up. Turns out he's pretty good looking too. Which is weird because Sanji's into girls....right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my very first fanfic! I really hope you guys like it :)

Today was just another day for sixteen year old Sanji. He woke up before dawn to help his old man prep for the restaurant that they ran together. Though he was little more tired than normal, accounting for the fact that the young blonde stayed up pretty late studying for his midterm finals. He sheepishly kneaded the dough for all the buns and pastries that the restaurant used for the day. As Sanji was practically falling asleep, he was broken from his trance by a deep, harsh voice.

“Hey, Eggplant! Either drink some coffee or get out. I don't need you slacking off or falling face first in that dough.” Zeff proclaimed. Sanji grumbled at his statement but continued to knead the dough. He didn't care, he was there to work whether Zeff liked it or not. 

Sanji and Zeff had a strange relationship for a father and son. They always argued and almost never agreed on anything. If you were a guest in their home you wouldn't think that they were related at all. Sanji believes it was the death of his mother that turned the old geezer sour. He couldn't blame him, life was a lot better with her around even if he was really young when it happened.

Sanji was only nine, his mother was out at a fancy dinner party with her office when a car accident happened outside. A large truck that was involved had crashed through the side of the venue and six people, including his mother, had died. 

A loud crash from the kitchen had woke Sanji up in the middle of the night. When he turned to his clock he saw that it was passed midnight.

What's all that noise?

He sleepily went downstairs and found his father with his face buried in his hands. Sanji saw the object that was thrown. It was a vase full of flowers that Zeff had gotten his mother. Sanji's eyes widened with anger.

What the...?! Mom loved those flowers... Why did he do that?

“Hey!!! Geezer!! What do you think you're doing??!! Mom adored those and you just threw them away like they were nothing!” Sanji yelled. Zeff did not react to his voice. It made the boy even angrier. He marched over and tugged on the old man's sleeve.

“Are you even listening to me?!” Sanji was so furious he was shaking

“Quiet Little Eggplant.” Zeff had said in the most mellow yet gruff voice Sanji had ever heard come from his mouth.

“What happened? Why did you throw them?” Sanji said in a smaller voice. Zeff didn't move for what felt like an eternity. When he finally did, he looked down at Sanji with somber eyes. His face was red and tears were streaming down his cheeks. 

Sanji froze. Why is he crying? I've never seen him cry before. What's going on? Where's mom?

Mom.

Sanji felt a lump in his throat. She hadn't said goodnight to him. He always woke up when she did. She should have been home hours ago. His heart started to race.

“Geezer.... Where's mom?” his voice shaking, “She didn't say goodnight to me. Where is she?” tears started to build up in his eyes. 

Zeff kept still again not knowing what to do with his son. How was he supposed to to tell him? He was only nine. How could he tell the boy his mom wasn't coming home? She was gone.

A quiet sob left the old man's lungs and he scooped up Sanji into his lap holding him tight, “She's gone Eggplant. She's no longer with us.”

“W-what do you mean she's gone?” Sanji said trying not to cry.

“Tonight. At her dinner party. There was an accident outside the place they were at. A truck ran through a wall and-...” he choked, “your mother wasn't the only one.”

Sanji couldn't believe what he was hearing. There was no way. He had to be dreaming. Mom couldn't be gone. There were still things they were supposed to do together. She couldn't just abandon him like this. He starting sobbing into Zeff's coat.

“She made it to the Hospital. The doctors did their best but she didn't make it. I got to see her. She said she loves you and that she's sorry she couldn't do all the things that you wanted to do together. To grow up strong and be the best chef you can be.” They held each other tight as they cried. Once Sanji had fallen asleep, Zeff brought him into his bedroom and for the first time since Sanji was four they slept next to each other.

Sanji grumbled again and shook his head at the thought. He hated thinking back to that night. Though almost every time he and Zeff had an argument he would think about it and they fought quite a bit. He had just realized that his hands had stopped moving and maybe Zeff was right. Though he'd never admit it. He was too tired for his own good. These midterms were killing him. 

“I think I'm gonna go shower-... and lay down before school.” Sanji said with a yawn.

“Yeah you do that, Brat.” Zeff snapped.

“Shut up old geezer.” Sanji made his way up to the apartment above the restaurant. It was nice living right above the place. The place was by no means small. It was almost like there was a whole house above it. They weren't sure what to call it so apartment became it's official name. Though Sanji would call it his house all the time. It was his home. Restaurant and all. 

Once he entered the place he kicked off his shoes and walked through the entryway, under the chandelier and towards the next flight of stairs. This was the second floor of their living space but if you counted the restaurant it's the third floor of the whole building. Sometimes Sanji hated having to walk up two flights of stairs to get to his room. He always banished the thought though. It was a good workout for his legs even if it barely was one. Sanji not only fought with Zeff vocally but physically. Not that he's abusive, he's trained in Savate and him and Sanji enjoy kicking the crap out of each other all the time. Sanji might as well be trained in it as well. So these stairs were a piece of cake. More time consuming than anything.  
Sanji cranked on the shower and took about ten minutes to scrub and rinse before he set his alarm and crawled back into bed. He needed the extra rest. As soon as his head hit the pillow everything went dark. 

 

Sanji slowly rolled into class with his bag over his shoulder. He let out a big yawn before someone slammed their hands on his desk startling him. 

“Wha-! Ooohhhh my beautiful Namiiiii~! Good morning! You scared me!” Sanji said with a hand over his heart. Nami was a short red-headed girl that sat in front of him in class. She rolled her eyes at Sanji and leaned in a little closer.

“Ms. Robin, Ace and Luffy are back.” She uttered without a moment to spare.

“What?!”

“Yeah, they came in a few days ago. They've been getting rid of the jet lag but they're finally back in school again!” Nami said excitedly. 

I guess this wasn't just another day. Their friends and their school librarian had returned from Japan.

“That's great!” another voice broke in. A blue haired girl had just sat down in her desk next to Sanji overhearing their conversation.

“Vivi!” Nami bounced happily to her friends desk. 

“Good morning, Vivi~:” Sanji said with a big, dopey smile. He always swooned over the ladies. He sure did love ladies.

“Good morning, Sanji.” she smiled back, “It's good to know that everyone will be back together again. They've been gone for so long now.”

“Yeah, and we won't have that creepy guy as our librarian anymore.” Nami scoffs, “He always gives me the heeby jeebies.” She sticks her tongue out as she rubs both of her upper arms. 

“I just hope they're okay. They seemed pretty devastated before they left.” Sanji added.

Ms. Robin has been Ace and Luffy's neighbor for quite some time. She had babysat them since Luffy was five and Ace was eight. She was sixteen. Even after they were “too old” to babysit they constantly went next door to Robin's. They enjoyed her company and she enjoyed theirs.

A couple of months ago she entered the courtyard during their lunch break whiter than a ghost. Ms. Robin was always so composed and she always lit up any room with her soft, sweet smile. Something was definitely wrong. Ace and Luffy immediately got up and approached her. Sanji remembered how Ace and Luffy's composes changed from whatever she had told them. They held each other tightly for a few moments and the brothers walked back to their table with their heads low to the ground.

After a few moments Ace broke the silence, “Ms. Robin wants us to go to Japan with her. She said she'd pay for everything and offered to teach us while we were there too. We'd be there for a while. She told us to think about it. We would be leaving next week.” More silence.

“But...why?” Nami whispered, “I know you guys are close and all...but why would you go to Japan with her?”

“W-we're not supposed to say.” Ace uttered quietly, looking down at his hands. 

“You know how Robin has her family come out here every other summer?” Luffy cuts in before anyone else could speak.

“Luffy! We aren't supposed to say anything!!” Ace yelled but Luffy continued, “Something bad has happened. We're close to her cousin. He's around our age. He needs us.”

No one knew about the younger cousin and how close the brothers were to him. After some time Ace spoke again, “I'm not sure I want to go. We don't know how long we'll be gone and we'll be away from our family and-”

“I'm going. He's nakama.” Luffy interrupts. 

“Nakama?” Sanji asks.

“It's a word he taught us. It basically means friends chosen as family.” Ace explained. He sat there with a puzzled look for some time before his eyes went wide, “That's right...he's nakama. Alright, Luffy! I'm going too!”

“I'd kick your ass if you didn't.” Luffy chortled.

“Like you could.” Ace reminded him.

Sanji, Nami and Vivi sat in silence remembering the day Ms. Robin had passed the news. A loud voice brought them back to reality, “GUYSGUYSGUYS!!! DID YOU HEAR??!!!?!? Ace and Luffy are back!!” They looked up to see their long-nosed, curly haired friend run into the classroom. 

“Good morning, Usopp. We know, Nami just told us.” Vivi said with a gentle smile, “Kaya and Tony must be ecstatic.”

“I hate how you're the only one that can call Chopper, Tony. What makes you so special?” Nami grumbled.

“I don't know?” Vivi shrugged. Both of the girls broke into a giggling fit.

“Should we go or should we wait until lunch and meet at the usual spot?” Usopp declared. 

“The bell is about to ring. Luffy is all the way in the freshman win and Ace is n the junior. It would take us way too long to get to both of them. We should probably wait.” Sanji proclaimed.

“Good idea.” Usopp said taking his seat in front of Vivi. He turns around, “Hey...do you think they'll tell us?”

“Probably not. It's a private family matter. I'm dying to know too though.” Sanji says running his hand through is hair.

The day had felt like it was dragging on forever. The four of them could barely contain themselves in their seats. They kept looking up at each other and then the clock and at the door. Hoping that some off chance someone would come and whisk them away to their friends. 

They had gathered their things before the bell rang. Once it did, they all jumped out of their seats and sprinted towards the courtyard. The run there felt like miles. They busted through the doors all out of breath to look upon their friends waiting for them at the table. Chopper, Kaya, Marco and Sabo were already there. Right behind them were Ace and Luffy.

Ace. Luffy. They were back. 

“Ace!! Luffy!!!” the four of them said in unison. They tackled everyone onto the ground creating a dog pile in the grass, rolling around and laughing together like they used to. 

“Everyone! You're all here now!” Luffy said between laughs, “I'm so happy!” 

“We're happy too! It's so great that you guys are back now.” Vivi added.

They sat together, ate lunch and caught up with each other as much as they could in their short lunch break. Ace and Luffy took turns telling stories about their trip to Japan. Though so far they hadn't mentioned anything about the reason why they went or about their friend that they went to. None of them wanted to pry but they were all dying to know. Sanji braved up and asked, “So...how's your friend?” Ace and Luffy looked at him, at each other and then back at him again.

Luffy laughs and puts a big smile on his face, “He's great! He's moving here next semester!” Sanji can't help but notice that Ace doesn't seem nearly as ecstatic as Luffy is about their friend moving here. He decides whether or not he should say anything. He decides yes, “Hey, Ace. You don't seem too excited about your friend coming here.”

Ace snaps his head at Sanji, “Uh...well..” he pauses, “he's not exactly happy about coming here.”

“He'll enjoy it. I'll make him.” Luffy says putting his fist in the air.

“Why wouldn't he want to come?” Chopper asks. 

“He doesn't want to leave his kendo instructor behind.” Ace says.

“Behind? What do you mean behind?” Usopp asks.

“Ah-...we've said too much.” Ace replies. 

“So what's his name? You never told us.” Vivi addressed.

“Zoro! Don't be startled if he gives you a weird look if you call him that though. In Japan when you don't know someone very well you call them by their last name. He's used to being called Roronoa.” Luffy explains.

“Also he doesn't take to people very quickly. So don't be bothered if he rejects you in the beginning.” Ace adds.

“Zoro Roronoa? What an interesting name.” Vivi beamed. 

The bell rang and they all had to go back to class. Sanji couldn't help but think about how mysterious this situation was. Ms. Robin had suddenly took Ace and Luffy away from them for two months to Japan and returning to find out that her young cousin would be moving to the states and going to school with them. He decided to try to not think about it too much. If he was meant to know he would know. 

Sanji had invited everyone over after he put in his hours at the restaurant. He cooked for them, watched movies and played video games until late into the night. He was surprised that Zeff hadn't kicked them out earlier. Sanji thought it was probably what he could barely call his soft spot showing, knowing that his friends were back after such a long trip.

After everyone had left, Sanji went up to his room to study for a little bit before bed. These damn midterms getting in his way. They were coming up quick too. They were next week. He started thinking about how lucky Ace and Luffy were to have had Ms. Robin teach them while they were in Japan.

“Lucky bastards...they get to have such a beautiful flower help them and here I am pulling my hair out trying to make sure I don't screw up. AGH!” Sanji slammed his head on his desk. Too much happened today for him to really concentrate. He was stressed and excited all at the same time. He decided that it was no use studying and to try and go to sleep.

As he's lying in bed he starts to think about the mysterious friend of the brothers that's coming next semester. He thinks back to what Ace had said to them, about how he doesn't take to people very quickly. Usually he wouldn't even want to deal with a person like that but since he was a mutual friend he might not have a choice. 

“Oh well.” he muttered to himself. No sense in worrying about it now. There was more than half a semester before he showed up. Sanji closed his eyes and slowly drifted to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading my story and I hope you like it! Go to my profile to find my tumblr and follow me for updates about this story :)

“Aaaaggghhhh!! I'm so glad midterms are finally over!!!” Sanji yells rubbing his hands on his head.

“This calls for a celebration!” Nami cheers.

“We should get together tonight.” Kaya suggests.

“After that mess I need a good night out.” Usopp says covering his face.

“Oh, hush I'm sure you did fine.” Chopper assured, “You're one of the smartest in our group.”

“Would be the smartest if Mr. I skipped a grade didn't show up. Wait let me rephrase that, Mr. I should have skipped THREE grades!” Usopp pokes his small, wavy-haired friend in the chest. Chopper was about to retaliate when they heard loud footsteps and a distant yell coming their way.

“SSAAANNNNJJJIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!” Luffy came running at full speed. His voice was barely an indication he was coming. He tackled Sanji almost as soon as they heard it.

“Dammit! You shitty ball of energy! You're lucky I have good balance. You could have knocked me on my face! What do you want??!!” 

“Can you cook? Plllleeeaaaassseeeee?!” Luffy whined rubbing his face into Sanji's back.

“Okay okay!! I'll tell Zeff you guys are coming over tonight.” Sanji said trying to pull Luffy off of him.

“Great we have plans now.” Vivi expresses, “Hey, Luffy. Where's Ace?” she points out.

“Ace is with Marco and Sabo. He never wants to hang out anymore.” Luffy pouts while still on Sanji's back. They were all wondering why Ace had been so distant since they got back. He almost never ate lunch with them and was always with Marco and Sabo. Sabo would hang out with them when Marco wasn't around. Him, Ace and Luffy called each other brothers but for some reason Marco didn't like their group. Ace and Sabo never wanted him to feel left out so they would only hang out with Marco sometimes but it was happening a lot more often than normal and they weren't around anymore. Except for Ace and Luffy's first day back, otherwise they weren't there. Sanji always said that Marco must think they're “too mature” for them. Ace and Sabo must be starting to think the same thing.

“What a lame ass.” Sanji groaned, “WOULD YOU GET OFF OF ME?!” he grabbed Luffy's wrists trying to pry him off. Luffy's grip was too tight for Sanji to break free. Man he hates how strong this kid is.

“Nope. I'm comfy.” Luffy said holding onto Sanji tighter. Sanji gave in and let the boy ride on his back, “I don't wanna go home. Can I hang in your room?”

“Not by yourself you're not. Can someone please come over with him so he doesn't destroy my place while I'm working?” Sanji looks around with pleading eyes.

“I can come now.” Vivi responds.

“I can too.” Nami said smacking Sanji's shoulder, “If you guys aren't busy come with us.” Chopper, Usopp and Kaya look at her and nod. 

“Let's get snacks first!” Luffy bounces while momentarily knocking Sanji off balance.

Nami pulls Luffy's cheek down so he's eye level with her, “We can't idiot. Sanji has to go straight to work and you'd take your sweet time picking out everything.” Stretching his cheek even more.

“Here. I'll give you guys the key to my back door.” Sanji digs through his pockets, “Just make sure you don't lose it and I swear I will kick your asses if anything is out of place when I come up!!” his voice noticeably goes higher, “Except you my dears~! I could never lay a hand on a lady~!” 

Nami takes the key from his hand and pokes him in the nose with it, “You forget I'm going with them. I'll make sure I keep them in line.” She says with a smirk creeping across her face. 

They approached an intersection where one way led to the restaurant and the other to the small mart. They waved to each other and parted ways for the moment. Sanji realized that he was running late and started jogging towards the restaurant. As he got closer to the coast he saw the restaurants sign. Baratie. Finally he was there and just in time too. He ran as quickly as he could upstairs to drop off his bag and to change. He reached the kitchen and washed his hands, pulled out his knives and collected his ingredients for his specially made soup.

He was about to start prepping when he heard quite an annoying voice, “It's about time you showed up you damn brat.” Zeff boomed.

Sanji wasn't about to put up with the old mans crap today, “Look geezer, I showed up on time. Now let's get to work. I'm not dealing with your grumpy ass today.”

“If you're here early you're on time. If you're on time, you're late.” Zeff clarifies. 

“I'm three minutes early. That's plenty of time to wash my hands and get my knives. I even collected all my ingredients for my soup.” Sanji says while cockily holding out his arms to show off everything laid out at his station.

“You're one hell of a slacker if you think that being here three minutes before your shift starts is early.” Sanji and Zeff were at a standoff of glares before Patty, another chef, broke in, “How about you both stop being idiots, shut your traps and get back to work!”

Sanji and Zeff both turned to him and yelled, “Piss off!”

“Like father like son! And you ass hats say people don't think you're related! We can't go one day without either of you tearing at each others throats!” Patty yells dropping what he was doing.

“If you can't run your mouth without moving your hands too then shut your trap and get to it!” Zeff snaps. 

“And you're the one to talk? You dropped everything just to pester the boy. You even stopped him from what he was doing!” Patty retaliates. 

“It's not like you to defend Sanji, Patty,” Zeff starts to walk over to Patty, probably to kick him, when a tall, blonde girl wearing the most beautiful blue dress busts through the kitchen doors, “Zeff! Zeff! We have a problem!” Zeff stops to look at her, “What is it Conis?” he says, crossing his arms.

Sanji noticed that she looked very worried. It wasn't like her to be like this, she usually could keep her head straight in any sort of situation. She takes a deep breath before speaking again, “One of the waiters just walked out. We're short staffed now. I tried calling some of the others and they're either not picking up or they can't come in. Usually this wouldn't be such a big deal but we are full to the brim with reservations and who knows how many walk ins we're going to have. We honestly should have scheduled a couple extra people tonight. Five people on wait staff just isn't going to cut it.” 

Zeff face hardens. This really is a bad situation they're in. He ponders for a moment before turning to Sanji. “Eggplant, we need you on wait staff.”

“What??!!” Sanji fumes, he could feel his face getting hot. No way he was going to serve tables. He was here to cook, not to bend to every whim of customers, “You can't be serious?!” 

“Oh, I'm serious. Put on a smock and go wait some tables, brat.” Zeff says, glaring at him. Sanji couldn't believe that Zeff was trying to get him to wait for the night. 

“I'm here to cook you damn geezer! I'm not here to do anything else!” Sanji snaps at him. 

“You're going out there whether you like it or not. Besides we don't need you in here.” Zeff says in a mellow tone. Sanji was furious now. He clenched his fists together, trying not to shake. Sanji was so tired of Zeff's crap. This wasn't the first time that he made Sanji go be a waiter. He hated doing it and that's why he thinks the geezer sends him out there, just to piss him off. 

“You'll do it whether you like it or not. Now get out there or I'm not paying you!” Zeff growls at him. Sanji snaps and runs at the geezer sending out a kick. Zeff easily blocks it with his peg leg and they glare into each others eyes, “What gives you the right to tell me what to do?” Sanji says shaking. 

“I'm your father and your boss! Now do as your told, Brat!” Zeff pushes with his peg leg and knocks Sanji off balance. He spins around sending out a kick and knocking Sanji into the side of the cabinets, “Now get your string bean ass out there before you really piss me off!” 

Why the hell did that stupid old man always have to treat Sanji like crap. He never did anything wrong and he's getting yelled at and getting kicked around like he was nothing. Sanji never understood why their relationship was like this. He couldn't stand it at times and right now he was too angry to fight back. Sanji sits up, wipes the blood trickling from his mouth and spits. He stands and without a single word, storms into the waiters station, puts on an apron and charges into the dining area.

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“Luffy! Would you hurry up and pick what you want already? We've been here for twenty minutes!” Nami yells smacking Luffy on top of his head.

Luffy whines, “But Naaammiiii, they're all so gooooddd. I want them all.” he sits down crossed legged, arms intertwined and pouts. 

Nami smacks her hand across her forehead and slowly slides it down her face, “Luffy...Sanji is going to cook. There's no need to buy all of them.”

“Then I have to pick out the best one.” he huffs turning his head.

Nami takes a few steps towards Luffy with a fist ready for another hit when Usopp steps between them, “I'll buy some of the ones that you want.” 

Luffy jumps from his sitting position clapping, “Really?!” Usopp nods at him. Luffy bites his shirt as tears of joy start streaming down his face, “Thank you so much Usopp!”

Nami grabs her head with both of her hands, “I can't believe I'm friends with these idiots.”

Vivi puts a hand on Nami's shoulder and smiles, “Life just wouldn't be as exciting without them.” Nami looks at her and sighs, “Yeah you're right. Can we please go now?” when she turns, Luffy and Usopp have already paid for their snacks and headed out the door with Kaya and Chopper chasing after them. 

Nami stomps her foot and throws her fists in the air, “You have GOT to be kidding me!!” she runs out the door with Vivi close behind, “IDIOTS!!! I HAVE THE KEY!! WAIT UP!!” Nami starts to sprint towards them. Vivi laughs with a hand over her mouth running a bit faster to catch up to her friends. 

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Sanji angrily stomps up the stairs to his apartment. What the hell gave the right to that old geezer to tell him to get out of his kitchen. It was Sanji's kitchen too! His food was just as good as that bastards, “Shitty geezer and his shitty cooks and his shitty kitchen and this shitty restaurant!! The only good thing about this shitty place is watching the shitty sunrise over that shitty ocean every god damn shitty morning!!” Sanji stops halfway up the steps and lets out a scream. He was tired of being treated like a child. The blonde wanted nothing more than to stick his foot up Zeff's ass and a cigarette between his lips. He's not sure when and how he picked up the habit but he knew he needed one badly. Sanji let out a sigh before continuing up the rest of the stairs.

He opened the door and he could hear laughter and yelling coming from the back of the apartment. Sanji feels a warm smile growing on his face before kicking off his shoes and heads towards the clamor. His friends were in his sun room playing cards. The whole back wall was covered in windows that led to a deck outside. Looking upon the view of his closest friends and the ocean in the background put Sanji at peace again. Seeing his two favorite things in one place relaxed him, making him forget about what made him so angry.

Sanji soaked in the scene, studying each and every one of their joyful faces. They were having so much fun that no one noticed that he was there. A huge smirk stretched across his face, “Don't have too much fun without me.” Everyone turned their heads and looked up at Sanji.

“Oh! Sanji!” Luffy said with a wide grin.

“We didn't even notice you were there.” Kaya admitted rubbing the back of her head.

Sanji chuckled, “It's okay. You guys seem to be having a pretty intense card game.” he says leaning over the table, “What are you guys playing?”

“Rummy.” Nami responds, “Luffy decided to pick up almost all of the discard pile. I needed some of those cards!” Luffy laughs and sticks his tongue out at her, she sends a growl back his way.

Sanji couldn't hold in his laugh. It's when they're all together like this that he really appreciates their company and how life would be so different without them. He couldn't believe how lucky he was to have friends like these.

“Hey, Sanji. Quit looking at us like that. You look like you're about to confess to someone.” Usopp said laying his cards face down.

“I'm just happy you guys are here is all. That old shit geezer decided to try and ruin my day. Didn't work out so well for him!” Sanji beams.

“I was wondering why you came up so early. Anything particular happen?” Chopper asks with a worried look. 

Sanji let out a sigh, “Just his usual crap, but then he decided to stick me on wait staff again. One of the waiters walked out so I had to deal with it. After a while I noticed that the food was taking a lot longer than normal. They were short one person in the kitchen with me being out there, so I went back and tried to help out. He didn't like it and told me to get out.” he was getting angry again just thinking about it. He let's out a groan and crosses his arms hoping they would drop they would drop it.

“That's not good, but let's not bother him about it. He's away from it now. No need to remind him about it anymore.” Vivi says gently.

“Ooohhhh Vivi you know how to get straight to my heart.” Sanji bubbled posing with one hand on his chest and the other towards Vivi. She puts her hand in front of her mouth and lets out a tender giggle. He smiles back at her, “Well all of you can finish up your card game. I'm going to go have a smoke then get to cooking.”

“Yay! Food!” Luffy cheers. As usual Sanji was in a run for his money. Even with all the consumed snacks scattered across the table and floor he knew he would have to make a feast for his friends. As scrawny as Luffy was he was a bottomless pit. No one knew where the kid packed it away. The food must turn straight into energy, which must be why he's bouncing off of the walls half the time. It was the only logical explanation. He hopes Zeff will bring some leftovers up from the restaurant. If he did, Sanji wouldn't have to spend most of the evening cooking.

Not that it was a big deal to him though. Sanji loved to cook. It was his passion and his dream to own his own little coastline restaurant. And what's better than doing what you love for the people that you love? It was easy to converse with everyone too while they were there. His kitchen was open and connected to the sun room. Even if he wasn't directly part of their games he could still be a part of the fun.

Sanji stepped out onto the deck and leaned forward on the rail staring out at the ocean. He lit up a cigarette and took a long, slow drag. It felt like heaven hitting his lungs. The smoke was a huge stress reliever for him, especially today. After his midterms and the shitty geezer up his ass all afternoon it was nice feeling the familiar ghostly mist hug his lungs.

As he was about to take another drag, he hears the door slide open and someone step onto the deck. Not moving an inch he continued to smoke his cigarette. He knew exactly who she was by the sound of her footsteps. She patted a hand on his shoulder before leaning against the rail next to him.

“You know those are bad for you, right?” Nami states putting her face into her hand. 

Ignoring her, Sanji exhales the remainder of smoke in his lungs, “Not going to finish your card game?”

“Nah, I know when I'm going to lose. Plus I wanted to check up on you. I know how stressed out you were about midterms.” She says turning to him.

Sanji stood upright running a hand through his hair, “Well we'll just have to wait and see how well I did. No point in worrying about it now. Damage is done.” he says letting out a sigh. He turns his back towards the railing and leans on it with his elbows. Looking up at the sky he takes another drag from his cigarette.

“You do realize that if you fail two of them they'll make you do the extra credit, right? Nami asks raising an eyebrow. Of course he knew that. Everyone did. The last thing he wanted to do was run a stupid obstacle course in less than three minutes with that jackass of a gym teacher.

“Oh, I know. Why do you think I studied so hard?” Sanji scoffs. He was a bit disappointed that Nami didn't seem to believe in him. It was almost like she knew he was going to fail.

“Well if you spent less time cooking for the Baratie you'd be able to do your homework properly.” Nami suggests.

Sanji was starting to get irritated. Why was she saying this to him? And what good is algebra going to do in the kitchen? What good does reading a book, analyzing and writing a paper on it going to help him as a chef? He's at a loss for words. She was practically berating him! His face started to get hot with anger and he sees that Nami notices.

“Ah-...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...to seem like I was putting you down. I mean. Okay. Well, Vivi an I were talking....and after all this. After high school. If we're all still friends, we thought that it'd be cool if we all went to the same university. I know it seems childish but I really want to do that. We talked to a couple of the others and they want to as well. We were thinking Grand Line University.” She stammers through her words hoping to get out of offending him.

Sanji thought for a moment. Grand Line University was further south from where they were currently at, in the deeper parts of the city. It was about a forty-five minute from here, only twenty if you took the train. If he got his own place near campus he could still work here at the Baratie if he wanted to. But his mind goes back to where the conversation started. It was a very prestigious school. He realizes what Nami is trying to tell him. She wants him to start working harder in school and not worry so much about the restaurant so they can all stay together. He sighs knowing she has a point, he doesn't work nearly as hard in school as he does in the kitchen.

Sanji turns to her, “So...the whole point of this conversation is basically to tell me to get my ass in gear so we can all go to the same school?” 

She stands with wide eyes for a moment and then a smirk starts to stretch across her face, “You know it.”

“Sounds good to me!” Sanji smiles at her. She laughs putting her hand on his shoulder, “Man you really had me there for a second. I thought you were actually mad. Almost thought you were going to yell at me and tell me to leave.”

“I could never do that to my beautiful flower.” he says taking her hand into his.

She rolls her eyes, tears her hand away and pokes him in the chest, “This means from now on you don't take nearly as many hours at the restaurant and we get to help you study. Deal?” she says extending out her hand.

Sanji takes her hand, “Deal.”

Once Sanji had finished his cigarette they headed back inside only to see Luffy cheering about his victory in rummy and everyone else sulking in defeat. Nami goes to sit with everyone at the table and Sanji goes to the kitchen to start cooking. He searches the cupboards to decide what to make. Something filling that he can make a lot of easily. As he searches, he decides to make a pasta with Alfredo sauce and shrimp. For sides, he makes a salad, mashed potatoes and green beans. For desert he makes chocolate fudge brownies. As his hands swiftly move through the steps he hears his friends laughter and looks up to see their smiling faces. He quietly thanked them for being there to himself and went back to cooking.

When the food was finished, Sanji called everyone up to grab a plate and serve them. One by one they got their food and went outside to sit on the deck. The sky was looking slightly red with the sun setting over the skyline of the city. They talked about their teachers and school and all the shows that they watched together. Upcoming events that they wanted to go to and they already started planning their annual summer trip. After some time Luffy begged for more food. Sanji got up and went inside to get some more food for him when Zeff walked into the kitchen with leftovers from the Baratie. They exchanged glares as he handed the food to Sanji. Sanji heads back outside and hands the food to Luffy.

“Hey, Sanji?” Luffy says taking the food from him.

“What's up?” Sanji says looking down at Luffy. 

“Do you think I could take some food home with me?” He asks.

Sanji was taken aback at Luffy's question. Luffy never takes food home, he always finished it there, “You're not going to eat all of it now?” Sanji asks raising his curly eyebrow.

Luffy shakes his head, “No, I want to take some home with me tonight. Is that okay?”

Everyone looked at each other confused, it was a very strange request from their friend. Sanji nods and goes back inside to pack up the rest of the food for Luffy. There was probably only a little more than a serving of each dish left. He wondered why Luffy didn't just eat it, but then he realizes that he must be bringing some home to Ace. Sanji goes back out onto the deck and sees that Luffy is already almost finished with the leftovers Zeff gave him. Sanji hands the food to Luffy and he thanks him. Luffy quickly finishes up the rest of his food and says goodbye to everyone and leaves.

“What was all that about?” Nami says confused.

“That was very strange. I wonder why he just left like that.” Usopp states scratching his head.

“Luffy sure is a strange kid. What's even weirder is that he skipped desert.” Sanji says lighting up a cigarette.

“Do you think he forgot?” Chopper asks tilting his head.

“Probably not. He must have a good reason. Speaking of desert, I will get that passed out!” Sanji replies smiling. He heads back inside just in time for the brownies to be pulled out of the oven.

Luffy walks as quickly as he can to the train station, he only had a few minutes before the next train would leave. If he didn't make it he'd have to wait another twenty minutes before he could get home and the food would get cold. Running down the steps of the station, he heads towards his trains platform. Luffy runs his pass over the censor and gets on the train in time with a few seconds to spare.

He takes a seat and pats the bag of food on his lap, “I hope he likes it.” Luffy says to himself with a grin across his face. When Luffy's train came to a stop he quickly got off and jogged the rest of the way home. Once he reached his house, instead of going into his, he ran next door to Robin's and rang her doorbell.

He hears the deadbolt unlock and when the door opened he looked upon Robin's smiling face, “Why, hello Luffy. What brings you here?”

Luffy holds out the bag of food, “Has he eaten yet?”

Robin sighs and shakes her head leaning against the door frame, “No, he's being stubborn again today. He hasn't eaten since this morning, I'm glad you're here. I know you can always get him to eat. Your brother is inside already, come on in.” she steps to the side and motions for him to walk past her.

Luffy and Robin walk into the kitchen to put the food on a plate. With how quick Luffy got there, the food was still warm and they didn't even have to heat it up.

“It smells delicious. I take it Sanji made it?” she asks handing the plate of food to Luffy.

Luffy nods, “Yeah! I made sure I didn't eat all of it so I could bring some over.”

Robin lets out a gentle laugh, “How kind of you. They're in the living room watching a movie. I'll leave you boys alone.”

As Luffy heads over to the living room with the food, he can hear that Naked Gun is playing on the TV and hears Ace's chuckle. When Luffy walks in, he sees Ace sitting on one end of the couch and their green haired friend fast asleep and wrapped up in a blanket with his head in Ace's lap.

Ace doesn't notice Luffy right away but when he does he quickly looks down at their friend and back up to Luffy. He puts his hand behind his head, “Oh, hey Luffy. I thought you were at Sanji's.” he says nervously. 

Luffy's eyes narrow at Ace, “I was. Are you and Zoro a thing now? I doubt it, I thought I told you it was a bad idea to let him do stuff like this. You're going to fuck with your feelings.” he says gesturing at them.

Ace sighs, “Yeah I know. I can't help it though, he's just too cute.” Ace runs a hand through Zoro's hair, “I don't think I can ever back off knowing I could have a chance with him too.”

Luffy walks over and sets the plate on the coffee table, “Yeah, but he specifically told you he doesn't feel that way about you. You're too much like a brother to him. This here, to him this is being brotherly. For you it's something more. You really can't let him do stuff like this, you'll keep hurting yourself.”

Ace sure hated when Luffy talked like this, as much as he was a bumbling idiot when he got serious he would get serious and a majority of the time he was right. Ace ignores his advice and shrugs, “Feelings can change. What have you got there?” he nods his head towards the plate of food.

“Oh, that? Sanji made it! I thought Zoro would like some.” Luffy kneels down in front of the couch and starts poking Zoro in the forehead, “Hey. Zoro. Hey. Zoro. Wake up. I have food. It's good food. You'll like it.”

Zoro slowly stirs awake, eyes blinking, “Nandeshou?” he rolls onto his back groaning.

“Zoro, you're speaking Japanese. I don't understand.” Luffy says poking him again.

Zoro groans again and turns his head towards Luffy, “What do you want?” he says switching languages.

Luffy smiles and grabs the plate, holding it out to him, “I brought you food. It's good food. My friend made it, I know you'll like it.” he repeats himself nudging the plate closer to Zoro's face.

Zoro stares at the plate, scowls and looks back up at the ceiling, “I'm not hungry.”

Luffy gets up and leans over Zoro frowning at him, “Come on, it's really good and Robin told me you haven't eaten since this morning.” Zoro and Luffy stare at each other before Luffy's face changes to a pleading expression, “You have to eat something. Please?”

Zoro's face softens before he tries to sit up, hissing in pain through his teeth. Ace puts his hand on his back helping him up the rest of the way. Once he was facing Luffy he takes the plate out of his hand and put it in his lap. Luffy always felt so victorious when he could get Zoro to listen to him, which was all the time. He wouldn't listen to anyone else but Zoro would always listen to Luffy. He puts a big smile on his face but that quickly changes when the blanket Zoro was wrapped in drops, revealing his bandaged wrapped torso. He hated seeing that. He hated seeing his best friend in pain. He hated knowing Zoro was hurting more on the inside than he was on the outside. Luffy was going to make sure that Zoro would be happy again no matter what.

“Are you hurting at all? Luffy asks concerned.

Zoro looks up at him, “Yeah but it's a lot better than before. I don't need to use my crutches nearly as much but if I walk too long I can't hold myself up without them.”

Luffy takes a seat next to him, “Well it's good that you're improving. Now eat!”

Zoro laughs through his nose before taking the fork in his hand, “Itadakimasu.” he says before taking a bite. Luffy laughs and doesn't think Zoro will break from his culture at all. Zoro glares at Luffy knowing what he was thinking and chews his food. His eyes widened, “Oishii! Luffy this is delicious. Where did you get it from?” Zoro says turning to him. 

A grin stretches across Luffy's face and he laughs, “My friend made it. I'll introduce you to him when you get back into school.” Luffy sees Zoro tense for a moment before taking another bite. The grin on Luffy's face leaves, “You don't have to be nervous you know?”

Zoro puts his fork down and looks at Luffy, “I can't help it. Your schooling is so different from mine and even though I'm good at English I don't know how easy it will be learning in it.” he lets out a sigh before starting to eat again.

“We'll help you in any way that we can.” Ace says putting a hand onto Zoro's shoulder.

“Thanks guys. It means a lot.” he says with a smile slightly forming on the corners of his mouth. 

While Zoro finished eating, the movie ended and they picked out another one to play. Halfway through the movie the three of them fell asleep piled together on the couch. Robin came in and smiled at the site of them. She laid a blanket over them, turned off the TV and the lights and headed to bed.

 

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“Oh, Shit!”

It was the first day back after midterms and Sanji was already running late. The old geezer told him to take the morning off and he managed to sleep past his alarm. Sanji took a shower and got ready as quickly as he could. There was no way he was going to show up to school without showering even if it did take a big chunk out of his time. He had to make sure he looked good for the ladies. The young blonde swiftly went down the stairs into the kitchen, made himself toast, cut through the Baratie and sprinted out the door. As he was running to the station, he thought about how at this moment it seemed like he was a typical anime character running late to school with a piece of toast in his mouth. He chuckled at the thought as he turned the corner into the station.

Sanji weaved through groups of people to get to his platform. As he approached the ticket censor he could hear the announcement over the intercom that the train was about to depart. He slid his pass over the censor, squeezed through the bars and the doors closed just as he entered the train. Sanji let out a noise that was somewhere between a groan and a sigh, “Phew. Made it.” Barely. He took a seat and relaxed. It was times like these he wished one of his friends lived close to him. He would never run late unless they were too. Ace, Luffy and Vivi got to walk with each other and so did Nami, Usopp, Kaya and Chopper. But here he was on his own completely out of breath. At first he regrets taking a shower, after all that running he was a sweaty mess but then he catches his reflection in the window of the train and sees his hair looking perfect. He smirks and leans back into his seat.

Sanji starts to doze off when he hears that his stop is approaching. He sits up to stretch and when he stands to wait by the doors, he sees that Luffy and Vivi are waiting for him up ahead. They lived only a few blocks away from the station and even though it wasn't on their way to school, they would sometimes wait for Sanji and walk the rest of the way together. They waved to him as the train slowed to a stop.

The doors open and Sanji steps out, “Morning guys. Didn't expect to see you here.” 

Luffy bounces up and down with excitement as Sanji approaches them. When Sanji starts to flirt with Vivi, Luffy slowly sneaks behind him. Once he's right behind Sanji, he sticks out his tongue ready to pounce. When Sanji leans in to kiss Vivi on her hand, Luffy jumps on his back, “SSAANNJJIIII!!!”

Sanji almost falls over as the energetic boy lands on top of him, “Why you little-!! Ugh!! I swear I'm gonna kill you one of these days!” Even though Luffy does this almost every time they walk together, Sanji just can't get used to it. He secretly enjoyed it though, he liked the boys energy and how attached he can be to him. 

Up until high school, Sanji was alone. He didn't have a lot of friends and the ones he had, he considered more of acquaintances. He didn't care for them, they never hung out outside of school and he found them quite annoying. The only thing he constantly did in relation to people was flirt with the girls but as the same with anyone else he never got close to them. 

On the first day of high school, his usual plans of keeping to himself had changed. Just like they were today, Usopp, Nami, Vivi and himself were in the same class. Sanji of course got his flirting in with Nami and Vivi until Usopp came into class. Both of the girls ignored his advances while they talked to Usopp instead. Sanji was irritated that these beauties were ignoring him to talk to the long nosed kid. What he didn't expect was for the other boy to start talking to him and that he actually liked him. He was funny and kind and not annoying. Okay, he was annoying but not the same kind of annoying as his old “friends” from middle school.

Sanji took quite a liking to them and they started to ask him to hang out after school. That's when he met all the others and the more he hung out with them the happier he got. He had actual friends now. Whenever Luffy would jump on top of him like this, he'd get a warm feeling inside him. Finally knowing what it's like to have real friends and have people care about you so much was great. He thought back to the conversation he had with Nami on his deck. In that moment he realized how much he wanted to be with all of them and go to college together. Sanji didn't want anything to change.

The blonde quietly laughed to himself and shook his head. He felt like he was being such a sap lately. Vivi looked at him a little confused but he just smiled at her and told her that his mind was just drifting. She smiles back at him and they continue to walk to school with Luffy still on his back. 

When they entered the school, Luffy leaped off of Sanji and they parted ways to go to their correct wings. Sanji and Vivi entered their classroom and Usopp and Nami were already at their desks. They said their hello's before sitting down.

Nami turns around to them, “Are you guys nervous?”

“Yeah. I really can't wait any longer to know what I got on my midterms. The stress of not knowing if you failed or passed is killing me.” Usopp says while putting his face in his hands.

Nami hits Usopp on his head, “How many times do we have to tell you that you're the last person that's going to fail?”

Usopp rubs the top of his head, “I know, I know but can't a guy be worried? Just even a little bit?”

Nami shakes her head and turns to Sanji and Vivi, “I bet we all did fine. No worries!” 

The bell rang and Ms. Monet came to the front of the class with a stack of papers. As usual Sanji gleamed over her long, wavy blonde hair and sharp eyes that peered through glasses. He felt so lucky to have a beautiful woman as his teacher. She put her papers on her desk and stood at the front of the room, “Okay, everyone! I will be simultaneously taking attendance and passing out your midterm results. When I call your name please come to the front and take your papers.” she moves back to her desk and starts calling everyone up one by one. Once everyone had sat down she announced that they were allowed ten minutes to look over their results. 

Ms. Monet loved to see the reactions of her students faces. The ones gleaming were always great but she really enjoyed seeing the people that failed. It was easier to pick on them for answers in class in hopes that embarrassing them would make them want to work harder. It almost always worked for her. A lot of other teachers don't agree with her style but she could almost always get a failing students butt in gear with it. So she always ignored the “advice” the other staff would try and give her. She scans across the classroom and sees her two star students gleaming over their results.

“Oh, thank god.” Usopp lets out a big breath.

“We told you that you would be fine. I did great as well.” Vivi says smiling.

“Vivi you're way too calm about things sometimes and it freaks me out.” Usopp says turning around to face her.

“Why worry over something that you know you did great on?” Vivi giggles at Usopp.

“You're not normal.” Usopp says poking her forehead. 

Vivi scoffs at Usopp and turns to Nami, “How did you do?”

Nami sighs, “Not as great as I wanted to but I passed. I'll just have to study harder for finals.” Nami gives Usopp and Vivi a thumbs up. A dark grin creeps across Ms. Monet's face when the three of them turn around to talk to Sanji.

Sanji had an expression on his face that looked like he had just seen someone die. The three of them looked at Sanji worried and Nami was the first one to speak, “Sanji....? How did you do.” Sanji just stared at his paper and didn't move. They sat there in silence waiting for him to answer. After some time he clenched his fists around the papers and slammed his head on his desk, “I failed two tests. I'm going to have to run the obstacle course.” Nami gasped, Vivi clenched her jaw and Usopp let out a small squeak. They felt no envy for their friend, he'd be having to deal with the worst teacher in the school and with how he was they weren't even sure if Sanji was going to be able to pass the course. All they could do was hope for the best. 

Sanji picks up his head and looks at his friends, “This sucks.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your patience! I apologize this one took longer than normal. I've been drawing again and I've been spending so much time doing that, that I haven't made as much time as I usually do for writing. Enjoy!

Sanji paced back and forth in front of the athletics office. Each student that failed at least two courses got a pink slip and were sent down to the athletics department to sign up for a day and time for the obstacle course. The location was held at a camp twenty miles outside of the city and the course times were typically held over the weekends, allowing the students to pick which days worked best for them. Sanji wasn't too worried about the obstacle course itself, he had the utmost confidence in himself that he could take whatever was thrown at him. Unless that bastard teacher decided to change things up at the last minute, which he did quite a lot. What he was more worried about was Zeff finding out. With the course not within city limits he couldn't take the train or walk and Zeff would be his only way there. That old shit geezer would never let him live it down and might possibly completely cut his hours at the restaurant to make sure he did better in school. Sanji knew that he needed to cut down his hours at the Baratie to do better but he couldn't let the geezer take all his time away and that would be something that the old man would do.

As he paced, he thought up his options on how to get there without the geezer finding out. At the high school they left the students responsible for telling their parents about their grades, so if Sanji could find someone else to take him he had a chance that Zeff wouldn't find out. Nami's older sister would take him but she works weekends so that wasn't an option. Luffy's gramp was always out of town on business and it's too late to ask him when he'd be open since Sanji was about to sign up for his time. So he couldn't do it that way. Vivi's dad was the mayor of the city and he doubts he had the time. Chopper's foster mom worked at the hospital so there was no way she could take him. He didn't really know anybody else's parents, so he only had one option left. After this was over he'd go and talk to Ms. Robin to see if she would take him.

As he came to his conclusion, the athletic boards secretary came out and called for the next person. She was tall with long, blonde hair and tiny glasses. She always carried a clipboard with her, “Sanji? Mr. Spandam is ready to see you.”

Sanji shuddered at the mention of his name, “Thank you Kalifa. You look wonderful today.” he says to her when he approaches the door.

Kalifa pushed her glasses up her nose, “Might I remind you that could be considered sexual harassment. Don’t make me warn you again.” she glared at Sanji as he walked passed her. Kalifa found men quite annoying and didn't particularly like them. Any time a guy would hit on her or sometimes just bother her she'd threaten them with sexual harassment to get them off her case. She's never actually sued a guy but the threat alone works and she wouldn't hesitate to sue if it was needed.

Sanji rolled his eyes when he was far enough passed her so she couldn't see. _Was everyone in athletics always this eccentric?_ He thought to himself, _Aaaaannnddd that's a yes._ That bastard was in his office chair facing the other way letting out a quiet menacingly laugh. This was what Sanji hated most about this school, for some reason athletics was filled with a bunch of weirdos and the biggest weirdo of them all was Spandam. Sanji heard stories that the department used to be normal until Spandam arrived. He got everyone else fired and got his own people hired at the school and by own people, he means the people he used to run a military school with. They treated any physical ed class like they were in a military camp because of it.

All the teachers would make them do exercises in perfect formation and if you didn't you'd have to run a certain amount of laps under a designated time, otherwise they'd dock your grade. There were never any games anymore, like kickball or flag football. It was all just yelling and uniformed exercises. Spandam was able to convince the school board that this was the best way to get children to do well in school, which is why phys ed was always like this and that failing meant you had to make it up by running an obstacle course. This guy was a sneaky bastard and Sanji couldn't stand him.

After Spandam decided that his laugh was satisfying enough, he slowly turned his chair around. Sanji rolled his eyes again but quickly stood up straight when he was completely facing him. Spandam looked a Sanji with a sinister grin. Sanji hated his face, he hated everything about him. His dark circles around his eyes and his wavy purple hair. He especially hated that weird leather mask that he wore that covered half of his face. Sanji heard a rumor that he got into a fight with on of the highers ups at his old job and he broke Spandam's face. As a result, he had to wear that mask on his face and he was now working on the athletic board at a high school. But most of all, Sanji hated that mans entire being. Always acting like he was smarter and better than everyone else when he was just a lowlife that hides whenever there's trouble. Sanji had no respect for the man and he wasn't going to let Spandam think he was scared of him or failing his little obstacle course.

Spandam sat up straight and lifted his hands up to Sanji in a welcoming manner before speaking, “Well, well if it isn't young Sanji. I was wondering how long it was going to take before I'd see you in my office.” It was true that the man was waiting for Sanji. His grades were always on the low end and Spandam believed it was only a matter of time before Sanji would be sitting with him. Sanji stood there silent only looking at the leather masked man.

The grin left Spandam's face and his composure went from welcoming to hostile. He slowly dropped his hands and crossed his fingers in front of his face. He tilted his head slightly and looked Sanji directly in his eyes, “So....trying to play tough guy? Kids like you piss me off. You think that you're so cool by being so care free and having your grades be low but once shit hits the fan and you're in front of me you act like nothing's wrong. This is why we do things this way, to wipe those smug grins off of smart asses like you.”

This guy was seriously starting to piss Sanji off. What grin? How was he being a smart ass? All he did was not respond to his first statement and now the bastard was making up shit about him. Tough guy? What the hell was that supposed to mean? Care free? He was working his ass off at that damn restaurant and didn't have any time to study properly. Sanji looked at the ground and closed his eyes trying not to show his anger. He didn't want Spandam to know that he was pushing Sanji's buttons in all the right places. The blonde wasn't about to lose it because of this idiot, he wouldn’t give him the pleasure of doing so. 

Sanji stuck his hands in his pockets and breathed out slowly, “If you say so.” he said with a shrug. Maybe that wasn't the best thing to say to him but Sanji decided to play this little “tough guy” act that Spandam placed on him. Sanji saw Spandam's face contort with anger before he slammed his fists on his desk and stood up. 

“You little punk!! You think you're going to get anywhere in life with that kind of attitude?! You're pathetic and always will be. I'll make sure your course is especially difficult where even your prowess won't be able to get passed it.” Spandam took out a piece of paper and slammed it at the end of his desk, “Now sign up for your day and time and get out of my office.”

Sanji had to use all his might to not jump over that bastards desk and kick him in the face. He was going to have one hell of a time with his kick bag when he got home. Maybe he'd go on the school website and print out a picture of Spandam and tape it on it. Sanji smirked at the thought and now that he was calm, he walked over to Spandam's desk and picked up the paper and pen. He looked over the days and times that would work out best for him and he sees that there's an opening for this Sunday at four. He doesn't work that day and he could tell Zeff he was going downtown with everyone for the day. Placing the paper down on the desk and signing it, he hopes that Robin will be open during that time of day. She was his only hope that he'd be able to get away scot free without the geezer finding out. He lays the pen on the desk and walks out without saying another word or even a glance towards Spandam.

Sanji looked at the clock and saw that it was 3:10pm. School was let out almost a half an hour ago. He doubts Ms. Robin will be in the library still but he goes to check just in case. As he was walking through the corridors he sees Luffy up ahead and calls out for him.

Luffy turns his head and bounces happily towards him, “Sanji! What are you still doing here?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing. You're just the man I'm looking for. Is Ms. Robin still here?” Sanji says patting Luffy on the back. 

Luffy looks up at the clock, “No, you probably missed her by about ten minutes.”

Sanji shrugs and lets out a sigh, “Well I'm glad you're here then. Will she be home tonight? I need to ask her a favor. I don't want to go all the way out there and her not even be home.”

Luffy looked up at the ceiling and raised an eyebrow, “She should be. Today is what? Tuesday? Yeah, she'll be home. She always stays home and reads on Tuesday's.” Sanji thought that it was bit strange that she spent time at home reading. She worked in the school library, she had plenty of time to read all day. The raven haired woman must be pretty dedicated to books to do that.

Sanji pulled Luffy close into a headlock and throws his free fist in the air, “Alright! It's settled then! I'll be around after my shift tonight. Come over too.”

Luffy struggled a bit before getting Sanji to loosen his grip so he could talk, “Gah! I'll probably already be over. What time will you be there?” he said rubbing his neck.

“My shift ends at 7:00 so probably around 7:30. Tell her I'll cook tonight.” he says winking and giving Luffy a thumbs up.

Luffy starts to jump up and down with excitement, “Yahhooo!! You're the best!”

“I'll see you tonight then!” Sanji yells running off in the other direction.

Luffy waves goodbye and slowly comes to the realization that having Sanji over might not be a good idea. He completely forgot Zoro was there and he might not be comfortable with that since he still wanted to keep it a secret that he was there. Though it might be funny if they met, Luffy thought that they'd get along well. He shrugs his shoulders and decides that he won't say anything to Zoro and only tell Robin. She would probably agree that them meeting would be fine, plus Sanji was going to cook and who could pass on his cooking? Luffy puts his hands behind his head before heading out the door and walking home.

 

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Zoro wakes up in the middle of the floor head pounding and sweating, _Shit. Passed out again_ , he thought. He was really tired of being crippled. All he wanted was to be able to get up and walk without using those damn crutches and start training again. He was losing a lot of time sitting around reading all day so he decided to at least try some light exercises every once in a while, despite what the doctor had told him, and every time he ended up passing out. The doctors said he could only walk on the treadmill for ten minutes at a time with at least a two hour break in between. Who the hell had the time for that? He needed to be better now. He groaned as he tried to roll over and pick himself up but with no luck, he couldn't even turn to his side. _Damn. If Robin finds me like this she's going to be pissed_ , he turns his head to look at the clock, it said 7:20pm. _Good. She should still be reading. Gives me some time to compose myself._

Zoro laid there for another good ten minutes before he was able to get up on his own. He picked up his crutches and went to grab his bottle of pills but couldn't find them. Robin would know where they were at so he hobbled off to find her.

“ _Oi! Robin! Have you seen my pills?_ ” he called for her in his native tongue. He opened the door to the library but she wasn't inside. He called out again but to no avail.

Zoro was starting to get annoyed, “ _Where the hell was that damn woman?_ ” he said to himself. He remembered the time and thought she must be in the kitchen by now getting ready for dinner so he started to head that way. With his injury being across his torso, he couldn’t use his crutches like someone who had broken their ankle. They were just there for support, which made him walk a lot slower. He grumbled as he slowly made his way into the kitchen.

When he came close he heard Robin's voice and he called out again before entering the kitchen, “ _Oi, Robin! Have you seen my-_ ” he tried to say but he was stopped dead in his tracks. Zoro felt like a deer in the headlights as he laid eyes upon the most beautiful person he thinks he's ever seen. He was tall and slender, he had shaggy blonde hair that laid across half of his face, he had a weird curly eyebrow but most of all he had these gorgeous piecing blue eyes. They were like the ocean. His heart skipped a beat when their eyes met and Zoro quickly looked away when he realized that he was staring. He looked back and noticed the blonde was looking at him in shock and almost...pity? And then he remembered that his bandaged torso was exposed and that the blonde boy was probably staring at Zoro for that reason.

He turned slightly towards Robin trying to hide his bandages and speaks to her, “ _Robin? Have you seen my pills?_ ” his voice slightly shaking. Man why the hell was he so damn nervous? The blonde was getting to him, he hopes that with him speaking in Japanese the blue eyed beauty wouldn't notice the shake in his voice.

Robin turns around grabbing a bottle of pills sitting next to her coffee maker and sets in on top of the island counter closest to Zoro. He stumbles over stealing a couple of glances at the blonde and picks up the bottle.

“ _Thank you._ ” he says to Robin.

“ _You're welcome. Would you like a glass of water_?” Robin says smiling at Zoro. He nods his head and steals another glance at the blonde. Damn, he was still looking at him. The blonde probably thought it was weird that Zoro kept peaking at him like this. Robin hands him a glass of water and he takes his medicine.

As he drinks the rest of the glass Robin speaks to him again, “ _Why don't you introduce yourself?_ ” Zoro choked on his water and took a few moments to compose himself. A slight blush arose across his cheeks and with wide eyes he stared at Robin. She nodded to him and he swallowed and turned to face the blonde. As hard as Zoro tried, he couldn't look directly at him. His heart would skip when they made eye contact, he was just too gorgeous.

As his eyes darted around the room and back to the blonde, his heart started to race and he finally brought up the courage to speak, “H-hello...my name is Roron-.” he paused, the redness in his face going darker, “Ah..sorry. My name is Zoro.” the other boy was looking at him with a small grin at the side of his mouth. He wasn't saying anything, so Zoro brought up the courage to speak again, “ _Sorry. I'm still not so good at introduct-_ ”

“Zoro. You're speaking Japanese. He can't understand you.” Robin interrupted. Just when he thought he couldn't embarrass himself anymore, there he was speaking his language to someone who doesn't. Zoro looked back at the blonde and his grin was stretching farther across his face. Dammit, the bastard thought this was funny. Zoro could feel the heat rising to his face more, his redness reaching all the way to the tips of his ears. 

Zoro's heart started to pound harder and he was feeling dizzy. _This is not good..._ , Zoro thought. He was getting too worked up about the situation and he was still exhausted from his exercises earlier and he needed to sit down fast. Zoro breathes in deeply trying to compose himself but starts to topple over. Robin runs over and catches him helping him to sit in one of the stools at the counter.

She cups her hands around Zoro's face and makes him look at her. His eyes are blank and blinking rapidly, he's starting to sweat and he's breathing is heavy. She lays her hand across his forehead and turns to Sanji, “He has a fever, he must have over exerted himself. Can you go next door and get Luffy? Hurry! Please?!”

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Sanji trods up Robin's steps with groceries in hand. He had Luffy text him what Robin had so he didn't buy anything extra for tonight's meal. He was excited to cook for her but very nervous that she wouldn't be able to take him to his course time on Sunday. He rings the doorbell with his foot and waits for Robin to come to the door.

He heard the click of the lock and the door open. Robin smiled, welcoming him and motioned for him to come inside. They walk into the kitchen together and Sanji sets the bags on the island. He faced Robin and gave her a slight bow, “Good evening, Ms. Robin. How are you this lovely evening?”

She let out a soft giggle and waved her hand disapprovingly at Sanji, “Oh, please. Don't call me that here. That's just for formalities at school. How many times do I have to tell you to just call me Robin outside of school?”

“But a beautiful woman like you deserves to be talked to with respect.” he says to her standing up straight. Robin laughs and shakes her head ignoring his comment. She walks over to the counter behind her and pulls out some tea leaves, “Would you like a cup?”

Sanji nods as she starts prepping the water kettle. Robin turns around and leans against the counter, “So, what brings you here today Sanji? Luffy told me you had a favor to ask of me.” she says crossing her arms.

Sanji took a deep breath to get rid of his nerves, “Well, I was wondering if it was at all possible for you to take me to my obstacle course time this weekend? I can't tell Zeff. He'll take my hours away from the restaurant. I couldn't handle that. I'm going to cut my hours so that I can do better but if he finds out he'll definitely cut me for good. You're the only person I know that could possibly take me.” he pleads to her hoping that she'll comply. If anyone would understand, she would and if she didn't he'd be screwed and has no hope of Zeff not finding out.

Robin straightens herself thinking about his request. She puts one hand under her chin and closes her eyes. After she finishes pondering she looks up at Sanji with a blank stare, “Now, as a teacher I really cannot condone this. You should tell your father and have him take you. It's the most responsible action to take.” Sanji's heart drops. That's just great, he was going to lose the restaurant.Just as he lost all hope, he sees that devilish smile Robin makes appear on her face, “But as your friend...I say it's a great plan. Plus, I wouldn't mind seeing the look on Spandam's face when you pass. When is your time?”

Sanji heart leaps and he practically jumps for joy hearing those words come out of her mouth, “It's this Sunday at four! Oh, thank you so much! I don't know how I could ever repay you.” he says practically bowing to her.

Robin smiles softly, “I'm sure I'll think of something. Just make sure you come more often and cook for me.”

Sanji was about to speak again but he hears a voice in another language coming from the other room, he look into the hallway and a young boy with short, green spikey hair stumbled into the kitchen on crutches.

“ _Oi! Robin, have you seen my-_ ” the boy stops and stares at Sanji like he'd seen a ghost. He got a good look at him and Sanji was amazed at how green his hair was. He'd never seen such a shade of hair before. Was it even natural? It had to be, it wasn't a weird neon color but it was as natural as green hair could possibly get. He looked closer and the boy had such sharp features and dark eyes, he was broad shouldered and had thick muscles. Sanji was drawn to the three earrings that hung off his left ear. He looked at his neck and Sanji's eyes slowly went up and down his body, he was so...handsome. Wait..what? Sanji calling a man handsome? What was he thinking?

As Sanji's eyes went back up the boys muscular body, he noticed that the white across his chest was not a shirt but bandages. His eyes widened with shock in his realization. What happened to the poor boy for him to be wrapped up like the way he was? They made eye contact and the green, haired boy quickly looked away. Sanji watched as he faced Robin and spoke to her. They were speaking in Japanese and it seemed like he was asking Robin for some sort of medicine because she put a bottle on the counter towards him. As the boy walked over to his pills, Sanji notices that he's stealing glances at him. It was kind of cute. Cute? Are you serious? Sanji punched himself internally at the thought.

Robin hands him a glass of water and Sanji watches his adams apple go up and down as he drinks. Robin says something to him and he chokes on the water. After he stops coughing, Sanji sees his face go red and he turns towards him.

The boy stands there but won't look directly at Sanji, at least not for long. His eyes are darting between him and everywhere else in the kitchen. He seems to be able to build up the courage to speak. He has such a deep, harsh voice, “H-hello...my name is Roron-” he cuts off in the middle of his sentence and turns redder. Sanji grinned a little, the boy was so red now. Even with how dark his skin was he's never seen someone turn so red before. The boy spoke again, “Ah...sorry. My name is Zoro.”

So this was Zoro. Sanji should have guessed knowing about Robin's cousin from Luffy. Who else would he have been? But that means that whatever bad thing that happened to the boy, him being all bandaged up was the result.

Zoro tried speaking to Sanji again but he started speaking in Japanese. Before Sanji could say anything, Robin interrupted him, “Zoro. You're speaking Japanese. He can't understand you.” Just when Sanji was thinking that the boy couldn't get any redder, he does and it reaches all the way to the tips of his ears. Sanji can't help but smile, this was just too cute. He didn't think anyone could be as cute as Chopper while being embarrassed. Oh, come on. Again? Cute? Why was he thinking that this boy was cute? He was just another guy, it was okay to call Chopper cute because he was but Zoro was big and looked so strong and a little scary. There's no way Sanji could think he was cute.

Just as Sanji was about to introduce himself he notices something is wrong with the boy. His breathing is uneven and he's staring at the ground with his eyes slowly closing. Zoro takes a deep breath before starting to fall over. Robin runs over to catch him and she helps lead him to one of the stools at the counter.

Sanji watches and she cups her hands in his face and makes Zoro look at her. An expressions of shock reaches her face as she puts her hand on his forehead. Robin bites her lip and turns to Sanji, “He has a fever, he must have over exerted himself. Can you go next door and get Luffy? Hurry! Please?!”

Sanji stands there in shock, he had no idea what had just happened. One minute Zoro was perfectly fine and the next he was practically passing out. Robin yells at him again to go get Luffy, he snaps back to reality and runs out the door to Luffy's. Sanji quickly goes up the steps and knocks on his door. Luffy opens it and without a word Sanji grabs his wrist and drags him towards Robin's.

“Sanji! What's happening? What's wrong?” Luffy asks with a worried voice.

“I'm not sure why but your friend is not doing so well right now and Robin told me to come get you.” Sanji responds pulling Luffy along faster. They bust through Robin's front door and go straight into the kitchen. Robin is trying with all her might to keep Zoro awake. Luffy marched over to Zoro and lightly slapped him on the side of his face. He turns to Robin with an almost relieved looked, “I don't think he's going to hallucinate. He should be fine. Where do you want me to put him?” he asks Robin.

“Put him on the couch, he hasn't eaten dinner yet.” She responds. Luffy starts to put Zoro on his back with Robin's help.

Sanji watches as Luffy leaves the kitchen carrying Zoro. _What the hell just happened?_ Sanji thought. He turns to Robin and she has a worried look on her face. She seems very stressed out, it must really hurt to see this happen to someone you love. 

He walks over to Robin and puts a hand on her shoulder, “You okay?”

She looks at him and sighs, “Yeah, I'm just worried. When he gets like this sometimes..memories stir and he hallucinates. Luffy thinks he'll be fine this time but I can't help but worry. It's scary and it's so painful to see him like that.”

Sanji let's her words sink in, so this injury he got wasn't just some accident. There was a lot more to this story than Sanji could guess. The kettle started to whistle and Sanji went over to the stove and turned off the heat. He offers to make the tea and he gets two mugs ready for the both of them. After he finishes, he hands Robin one of the mugs and takes a seat next to her. They both sit in silence, the only sounds of them sipping their tea.

Sanji tightens his grip around the mug and stares into the liquid, “Is he going to be okay?”

“He'll be fine since Luffy is with him.” Robin says looking at her mug. She takes another drink.

Sanji does the same, “Seems like they're pretty close.”

Robin let's out a light laugh, “Yeah, they are. Ever since they were so small. Zoro...has always had a hard time making friends. It's more like he chooses not to. A lot of people talk to him, he's kind and passionate and he's good at talking to others, but he just doesn't seem to let himself get too close to anyone. He's only ever had two real friends. One here, which is Luffy, and one over in Japan. She was a sweet girl.” Robin lets out a sigh and a sad look reaches her face. Sanji noticed that when she mentioned this girl she said “was”. He felt hurt knowing that this girl might not be a part of this earth anymore.

Robin's expression turned a little lighter and turned to Sanji, “Luffy is the only one that can carry Zoro without hurting him. He's so light and gentle and almost soft. He's very good at keeping Zoro in reality when he hallucinates. Probably because Luffy is the person he trusts the most. When Zoro is being stubborn all I have to do is get Luffy and he'll listen.” She laughs and takes another sip of her tea, “And you know Sanji...I think you could be pretty special to him too. I've never seen Zoro react to someone like that before. It was astonishing, even when he first met Luffy it wasn't like that at all. He hid behind me but when Luffy got close to him Zoro yelled at him and threatened to punch him. I've never seen him be so timid.”

Sanji was touched by her words, he never expected that he could make someone so nervous before. The other boy had made him feel something too. Maybe not something as far as nervousness but it was something. It was almost like he felt an instant connection between them. So, he decided he'd work up to being friends with him even if it did take some time. Thought with what Robin had been telling him, he had this gut feeling that this guy was going to be a pain in the ass. 

Luffy came back into the kitchen and took a seat with them. He let's out a sigh and turns to Robin and Sanji, “He'll be alright. He's sleeping on the couch now, we can wake him up once dinner is ready.”

Sanji let out a quiet gasp, “Oh! That's right! I completely forgot, I haven't even started yet.”

Luffy laughs at him as Sanji gets up and starts scrambling around the kitchen preparing dinner. Robin asks if he needs any help but Sanji declines and tells her that she should just sit and relax and that he could handle it. They talk amongst themselves as Sanji cooks and Luffy starts to ask Robin about his homework. Shortly after they get up and go to Robin's library, leaving Sanji alone. With dinner ready now, Sanji puts together four bowls and a small plate of rolls. Carrying the food he decides if he should go to the library or go to the living room. Part of him wants to go the living room and try to talk to Zoro by himself but the other part of him thinks it would be a better idea to go get Luffy and Robin first. As he passes the doorway to the living room, he stops himself and decides that he's going to wake Zoro up himself. When he enters the first thing he sees is a figure with green hair lying on the couch wrapped up in a blanket. 

Sanji takes a deep breath, hoping that his plan doesn't backfire. After he sets the food on the table he kneels in front of Zoro lightly shaking him awake, “Hey, dinner is ready. I've got food for you.” Zoro stirs slightly and mumbles something in Japanese. Sanji sighs and shakes him again, “Hey, man. You're speaking a totally different language. I have no idea what you're saying.” 

Zoro jolts awake staring wide eyed at the blonde, Sanji must have startled him. The green haired boy tries to sit up groaning in pain. Sanji leans forward to help him sit up but Zoro smacks his hand away, “I don't need your help.”

Sanji gave Zoro a dirty look, “Sure does seem like you need my help.”

“I don't need your damn pity. I can see it in your eyes.” Zoro snaps at him.

It was true that Sanji was worried about him, the guy was in pain for crying out loud. But what wasn't true was that Sanji was pitying him and that was starting to piss him off, “I'm not pitying you so shut up and let me help you.” he says holding out his hand.

Zoro stares at his hand for a moment before grabbing it. Putting his free hand behind Zoro shoulder, Sanji helps pull him up into a sitting position. Once Zoro was facing forward on the couch, Sanji takes a seat next to him. They sit in silence together awkwardly looking everywhere in the room except each other.

“So, my-”

“Than-”

They gawkily stare at each other as they both had just tried to speak at the same time. Sanji feels his face go a little red and he sees that the other boys does the same. They both quickly look away from each other again. Sanji was getting annoyed at himself, why was he having such a hard time talking to this guy? He moves to face Zoro and the boy turns his head to look at Sanji. They stare at each other again and Sanji notices how beautiful his eyes are. From far away you couldn't see them but from this close he could see they were a dark hazel and they sparkled in the dim light of the room. Looking at them made Sanji's heart skip a beat and he could feel the heat rising to his face again.

Sanji snapped back into reality and tried to hide his blushing face hoping Zoro couldn't see his redness in this dark room. Why was he feeling this way? Why does this other boy make him feel so funny? He pulls himself together and finally speaks, “My name is Sanji. I didn't get to introduce myself properly earlier. Sorry about that.”

Sanji could see pain fill in Zoro's eyes, “Don't apologize for that. That wasn't your fault.” he says in a pale tone, “I'm sorry you had to see that.” 

Sanji was at a loss for words, what was he supposed to say to him? It wasn't his fault that he almost passed out, it wasn't his fault that he was injured and got exhausted easily. What was he supposed to say? Sorry you're hurt? Sorry you can barely stand or sit up on your own? Sorry that this happened to you? Sanji starts to get frustrated and decides to just change the subject. He picks up one of the bowls and holds it out to Zoro, “I made dinner, it's a beef stew. After what happened it'll be good for...” he trails off. Now he's getting pissed off at himself for his failed attempt to change the subject. He clears his throat, “Anyways...I brought some rolls too that I made this morning.” 

There was a long pause as Zoro just stared at the bowl in Sanji's hand not saying a word. He closes his eyes and turns away, “I'm not hungry.”

Sanji flinched at his words, “Seriously? After all that you're not hungry? You have to eat.” he punches himself internally, he brought it up again. Man, he sucks at avoiding subjects.

He sees Zoro clench his jaw, “Don't bother, I'm not going to eat it.” he says not moving an inch.

Sanji's anger started to go back towards Zoro, “Just eat it dammit! You're injured and you need to regain your strength!”

Zoro turns to Sanji and glares at him with sharp eyes, “What the hell gives you the right to tell me what to do?”

The blonde felt his anger course through him, “Because I am a god damn cook and it's my duty to make sure sick and injured people eat right. So quit being so god damn stubborn and just eat already!”

Zoro continues to glare at Sanji, “No.” 

Sanji put the bowl on the coffee table and stood over Zoro, “You shithead! I should kick your ass for this!”

Zoro stands up and grabs Sanji by his collar, pulling them closer only a mere inch separating them, “I'd like to see you try.” 

Just as Sanji is about to yell at Zoro again, Luffy and Robin come running into the room with panicked looks. They all look at each other and their composure’s lighten. Robin lets out a gentle laugh, “I see you too are getting along nicely.”

“As if!” they both yell in unison. 

Robin and Luffy look at each other and start laughing, they knew that the two of them were a lot alike and would make good friends. Zoro clicked his tongue while letting go of Sanji's collar and he takes his seat back on the couch. Sanji does the same and holds his hands out to the food on the table, “Dinner is ready if you guys are hungry. I made a beef stew.” 

Robin and Luffy take a seat around the coffee table, grab their bowls and each take a roll. Robin notices that Zoro hasn't eaten any of his stew, “Not eating again Zoro?”

“No, he's not.” Sanji says grumbling.

“I'm guessing that's what the fuss was about earlier?” Robin asks raising an eyebrow.

Sanji nods, “Yeah, the stupid moss head over here won't eat my food,” he says poking Zoro in the side of his head.

Zoro flinches and smacks Sanji's hand away, “Who are you calling stupid, dartboard?”

“Dartboard?! WHAT?!” Sanji yells clenching his fists.

“Yeah, 'cause of your weird curly brow.” Zoro says swirling his finger around his own eyebrow.

Sanji kicks Zoro in the shin, “Take that back you meat head!”

Zoro retaliates and punches Sanji in the arm, “Make me!”

They fall into a flurry of kicks and punches with Luffy laughing in the background until Robin gets up and splits them apart, “Now, now boys. We don't want anyone getting hurt now do we?” Robin had this dark aura about her and they both got the feeling that if they continued fighting she'd be the reason why they were getting hurt. They both sat up straight and faced forward, “Very good.” she says before going back to take her seat.

“So, Zoro? You're not going to eat?” Robin asks pointing his spoon at him.

“No. I already told curly brow that I wasn't hungry.” Zoro says pointing his thumb at Sanji, he turns and glares back at Zoro. 

Robin tilts her head at Luffy and he gives her a nod back, “Just eat, Zoro.” Luffy says putting his bowl in his lap. Zoro stares at Luffy before clicking his tongue and picking up his bowl. Sanji gawks at how easily Luffy was able to get Zoro to listen to him. They really must be close, Sanji had gotten into a physical fight with Zoro over this and Luffy was able to get him to listen with just a few words.

Zoro puts both of his hands together, “ _Itadakimasu._ ” he says and picks up the spoon in his left hand. He takes a bite and let's out a quiet hum of appreciation. 

Sanji tilts his head and raises an eyebrow, “What was that? And you're a lefty?”

“It's something we do in Japan before we eat, closest thing in English would be like saying 'thanks for the food' or ' let's eat'. And yes I am.” Zoro says taking another bite of food. 

Sanji looks at Zoro with a confused look, “But you're in America now. Do you really need to do that?”

Zoro shoots Sanji a fiery glare, making him flinch, “I don't give a damn where I'm at. I'm not going to give up something I do in my culture just because I'm in some other fucking country.”

Sanji clenches his fists awkwardly, “O-okay...sorry.” as he watches Zoro eat, he gets a feeling that he isn't quite happy with being here. 

When Zoro finishes he says something again in Japanese, probably another culture thing and he turns to Sanji looking at him with a raised eyebrow. Sanji looks away quickly realizing that he was staring at the other boy the whole time he was eating and he probably noticed. He bites his lip and tries to break the tension, “So, how did you like it?

Sanji turns back to Zoro and the boy's expression is blank. He watches as Zoro purses his lips, “It was okay I guess.” he shrugs looking the other way.

Sanji narrows his eyes at Zoro, “What do you mean it was only okay?”

“I mean exactly what I said. It was okay.” Zoro says crossing his arms.

“You son of a bitch. You know how hard I worked on that?” Sanji says. He leans forward to look Zoro in the eyes but the green haired boy turns the other way.

“Looks like you need to work harder.” Zoro scoffs.

Sanji kicks Zoro in his side to get him to look at him. Once he does, Sanji grabs him by the hair, “You're really starting to piss me off. I'm going to make sure you eat those words. I'll make you the best damn meal if it's the last thing that I do.”

Zoro grabs Sanji's wrist, twisting it to make him let go. He snatches Sanji with his other hand by the collar and brings him close so they're face to face, “First off, don't you dare ever touch me like that. Second, I'll be anticipating that meal.” he says with an evil grin. Zoro tosses Sanji and he lands on the couch facing up. Truth was, what Sanji had made was really one of the best things he's ever eaten, he also figured that it was Sanji that made the pasta Luffy gave him the other day. Though he was never going to admit that to Sanji, not now at least. He enjoyed pushing the blonde's buttons. 

Sanji stared at the ceiling dumbfounded, he thought he had the upper hand in that fight but now he's laying on his back on the couch. On top of that, he has to make sure Zoro would admit his food was good. It was almost as if the green haired boy was planning for this to happen.

The blonde let's out a groan and sits up quickly, he shoves Zoro on the knee with his foot, “You're an asshole.”

Zoro clicks his tongue, “Right back at you.”

Sanji crosses his arms and shakes his head, he was right. This guy was going to be a huge pain in the ass.


End file.
